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Pipeline protest comes to Saskatoon

SASKATOON --
Hundreds of people marched in an anti-pipeline protest through downtown Saskatoon late Thursday afternoon.

As of 6:34 p.m. much of the crowd had dispersed and traffic restrictions were lifted at the intersection of 22nd Street and Idylwyld Drive, Saskatoon police said on Twitter.

Protesters had earlier performed a round dance in the middle of the intersection.

"Within Canada, the environment isn't being taken seriously enough and I think we need to focus on that more," said Krista Forsberg, wearing red face paint.

She wants the government to "please do better" on pipeline projects.

"It's really important to note that this isn't just an anti-pipeline protest. This is a protest about the treatment of Indigenous people by our RCMP officers all over Canada right now, especially in B.C.," said another protester, named Micah.

Protesters have shut down rail traffic across the country, including the busy corridor between Toronto-Montreal and Ottawa-Toronto. In B.C., service is being disrupted between Prince Rupert and Prince George.

Protest organizers say they are standing up against the Coastal GasLink pipeline project that crosses the traditional territory of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation near Houston, B.C.

The protests began last week after the RCMP enforced a court injunction against Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and their supporters. The group had been halting construction of the pipeline, a major piece of a $40-billion LNG Canada liquefied natural gas export project.

CN Rail said it has sought and obtained court orders and requested help from enforcement agencies for the blockades in Ontario, Manitoba and B.C. It says that, while the blockades have ended in Manitoba and may be “imminently” ending in B.C., the court orders in Ontario “continue to be ignored.”